Hello Corey and welcome to alt.support.cancer
Others will be with you shortly.

I would go to the Medical section of the local library, pull out 10 or so books,
look them over and pick two or three.

In the meantime, I have some links

http://www.braintumor.org/patient_info/surviving/tumor_types/gliomas.html
http://brain.mgh.harvard.edu/PatientGuide.htm
http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/info/brain/brain-8.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/brain/Structure.shtml
http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Brain/Typesofbraintumour/Oligodendroglioma

Try this one, it might just be my computer right now
http://www.methodisthealth.com/cancer/brain.htm

The last person I remember here with an oligodendrogliioma was Curly++ and he
did quite well for a number of years, but I don't know what grade of tumour he
had. I would have to search the archives to find out and what surgery and
treatments he had.

I should have more links for you later, but I have to reboot so hopefully these
will get you started.
Keep in touch and let us know how you and your wife are doing
J

Well, if you are serious about learning as much as possible about the brain,
then you should go to medical school. In the mean time, Harvard University
has an one-line brain atlas, that may be of some interest to you, see
http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/
You may also want to look at the site of the National Cancer Institute, see
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/types/brain/
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/treatment/adultbrain/patient

http://www.bestdoctors.com/en/conditions/b/braincancer/braincancer_072001.htm
Condition Summary Brain Cancer, by Raymond Sawaya, M.D., Department of
Neurosurgery, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en.asp?TopicID=90 NHS Direct Online Health
Encyclopaedia, Cancer of the brain

http://www.braintumor.org/index.html The National Brain Tumor Foundation is a
nationwide non-profit organization, serving people whose lives are affected by
brain tumors. We are dedicated to promoting a cure for brain tumors, improving
the quality of life and giving hope to the brain tumor community by funding
meaningful research and providing patient resources, timely information and
education.

Dear Corey,

My husband, Rob, was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2002.  He was
operated on for three large tumors on the left side of his brain and
over 80% of the tumors were removed.  At first the neuro-surgeon and
oncologist thought he had GBM (a 3-6 month average life span).
Fortunately the biopsy came back with a diagnoses of stage 3
Oligodendroglioma.  We were told that the average life span with that is
2-15 years, and a lot depends how your oncologist and radiologist decide
to treat your wife's tumor(s) and what decisions you and your wife make
for treatment.

Rob was operated on, on August 23 and home on September 4 after a stint
in the hospital and in a re-hab center re-learning how to take care of
himself.  However, Rob was 40, in excellent shape (he has since retired
from the army), and had a positive outlook from the get go.

A positive out-look is vital.  No matter what, your wife will be
different after the surgery.  As careful as they are to take only the
tumor, tissue will be excised or moved.  Rob has some short term memory
problems, has a hard time remembering some words, and has a harder time
concentrating on various parts of his life.  Due to the closeness of the
tumors to his libido, memory, and speach centers, he also has a shorter
temper, is more willing to express himself, and sometimes has a hard
time remembering what he was planning to do from one minute to another.

Don't think that we're babying him.  It would be the worst thing we
could do.  I worry that he'll take a walk and forget how to find his way
home, or will put something on the stove and forget to keep an eye on it
and burn the house down with him in it.  But these are the same problems
I would be facing if he had Alzheimer's or other memory disorders.

Rob was given a combination of radiation and Temodar at first, then
large doses of temodar as a chemo.  It came in pill form and was very
expensive.  Please make sure that your health insurance will cover all
of her treatments.  Also don't baby her.  Joke with her, buy her scarfs,
 assure her that you love her, and will fight this with her as long as
she wants to fight it, and will let her go when she's ready.  Don't let
her give up.  The chemo that Rob was given was not available for general
usage two years before he was diagnosed with his cancer.

I told Rob about this and he said to tell you to keep your sense of
humor up.  It's been almost two years since his surgery, and Rob still
remembers how our jokes helped keep him going.  He said that he knew
that if something were really wrong we'd stop joking.  So, ask the Dr if
she's been fixed yet and make other jokes if you can.  I tried to get
the anesthetist to brand "Property of US govt." on Rob's butt.  He said
"only if I can also put "Prime Beef" on the other cheek."  It was week
but helped.

Last but not least.  TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.  It is really hard, but you
need to be able to take care of you so that you can take care of her as
well.  Join a cancer support group.  Come in here and get advice, share
jokes, and know that the majority of this group will support you as much
as they can.  There are a few of the nut fringe, but just kill file them
and ignore them.  They are concerned only with the health of their own
bank accounts, and don't care about you or your wife.

If there is more that we can tell you, please let us know.  If you or
your wife want to email personally to either Rob or I, please do so.

Pam S. who's been there, been scared, and survived to wear the T-shirt

Thank you for all of your help so far, I've learned a lot from the links
you've provided!  But there is more to do, and I can't help but think that
the sooner the better.

My wife's biopsy was performed on Tuesday (April 6, 2004).  The frozen slide
of the biopsy viewed by our surgeon (Dr. Drew Sullivan) made him revise his
guess at her condition.  Instead of an Oligodendroglioma, he thought that
the cells looked to be higher grade, most likely an "Anaplastic Astrocytoma"
(95% likely).  The lab man who runs the definitive biopsy labs was off for
vacation so the labs were sent to John Hopkins in Baltimore, to a man that
our doctor says is considered by many to be the best brain tumor patholigist
in the world.  He will be available to look at the biopsy on Monday (April
12, 2004) and will let us know the results as soon as he can.

But now, here is the problem.  How do I make sure she gets treated by the
best hospital / medical staff for her case?  USNews.com says that Mayo
Clinic in Rochester is the best when it comes to Nuerology and Neurosurgery,
and that it is #3 when it comes to cancer.  Our local hospital (Gunderson
Lutheran Hospital in LaCrosse, Wisconsin) is not on the list.  Everyone
(family and friends) who have experience with Mayo are telling us that we
need to go there.  Our current doctor seems confident that he will be able
to provide good results using a method in which he maps her motor strip area
before surgery, and removing the motor strip only if he finds that the tumor
has invaded it.  But is that good enough?  How do I know if he knows the
latest techniques and has access to the best equipment?

We obviously want to get this taken care of as soon as possible, though our
doctor says that a couple weeks is not going to matter in my wife's case.

Any advice and/or comments as to what I should be doing here?  Is it obvious
that I should send her records to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion?  Is that
going to take a lot of extra time to set that all up?  Is there any
particular surgeon that I should be seeking to help my wife?  There is no
limit as to what I would do to find the best treatment for her.  I just need
to know what I should be doing (or not doing).

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Corey Rueckheim